Microsoft's legal chief: "We continue to be dogged by an issue we had hoped would be resolved by now: Google continues to prevent Microsoft from offering consumers a fully featured YouTube app for the Windows Phone." Utter nonsense, since MetroTube offers a complete and full YouTube experience on Windows Phone (it's one of the best Windows Phone applications), and YouTube+ on Windows 8. Two fantastically rich applications, built by small ISVs - yet Microsoft can't do the same? Don't make me laugh. Coincidentally, Microsoft is also whining some more about Google's removal of ActiveSync - Redmond again refuses to acknowledge that all it needs to do is implement the open standards CalDAV and CardDAV, just like everyone else has done. Times have changed, Ballmer. You don't get to dictate the industry anymore.

Google has now purposely crippled their Email offerings and locked out consumers from one of their most popular services, all over a petty pissing contest with Microsoft.

This is a little unfair. Google provide a means to access their services (Google Apps/GMAIL/etc) using a publicly documented and (mostly) standardised protocol suite (*DAV+IMAP).

Microsoft also provide a means to access their services (Exchange servers & Outlook.com/hosted exchange) via a publicly documented and entirely unstandardised protocol (EAS/EWS for mobile/desktop - there's also RPC[oHTTP] which is a mess even Microsoft is trying to figure out how to get away from and which I'll ignore)

This is in both cases in addition to the web interfaces of course.

Google should no more be expected to provide, for free (to users), EAS and EWS access to their services, than Microsoft should be expected to provide, for free (to users), *DAV+(decent)IMAP support via Outlook.com & Exchange based systems. (Exchange backed IMAP kinda sucks)

In fact, given the open, unencumbered nature of *DAV+IMAP, there should in fact be more reason to expect MS to adopt these protocols in their services than for Google to adopt EWS/EAS.

(Yes I know EWS hasn't come up, but as the desktop complement to EAS it makes sense to mention here)

This is a little unfair. Google provide a means to access their services (Google Apps/GMAIL/etc) using a publicly documented and (mostly) standardised protocol suite (*DAV+IMAP).

Except that Google doesn't use the DAV suite (not even implemented by default in Android, ffs) or IMAP with Push on Android or on iOS. They use their Gmail app with a proprietary syncing solution.

So what Google is doing is locking a competitor out, saying they should implement standards that they don't even implement (Because they're not ready for prime time, IMAP doesn't have a true push solution), and then some how, they have tons of cheerleaders here.

Google should no more be expected to provide, for free (to users), EAS and EWS access to their services, than Microsoft should be expected to provide, for free (to users), *DAV+(decent)IMAP support via Outlook.com & Exchange based systems. (Exchange backed IMAP kinda sucks)

In fact, given the open, unencumbered nature of *DAV+IMAP, there should in fact be more reason to expect MS to adopt these protocols in their services than for Google to adopt EWS/EAS.

Google is leading from behind here, they don't implement the standards they advocate. And I think this is where we differ a bit, I think its fair to expect Microsoft to implement IMAP+*DAV if Google is also expected to implement EAS.

In the end the consumer wins when all options are covered. Just ditching EAS is divorcing yourself from the reality that EAS is in many instances the best way to get push email out of Gmail. Its very heavily used on iOS for exactly that reason.